Located just a leisurely walk or short drive southwest of Chinatown and also near the Los Angeles civic center is Little Tokyo. Bounded by First and Third Streets from Main to Alameda Streets, this distinctive downtown district is the social, cultural, religious and economic center for Southern California's more than 200,000 Japanese-American residents, the largest concentration of Japanese people outside of Asia.
Little Tokyo began modestly in 1885 when an ex-seaman named Kame opened a small restaurant on the west side of Los Angeles Street, just below First Street. At the time, only about two dozen Japanese were living in Los Angeles. During the 1890s Los Angeles total population doubled from 50,000 to 102,000 people due in part to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad which opened the West to the rest of the United States.
Many of Los Angeles' first Japanese immigrants worked for the railroad cleaning boxcars and maintaining the tracks. Opportunities in agriculture, but more importantly, the establishment of Japanese-owned employment agencies and business associations brought life and promise to Little Tokyo. The name 'Little Tokyo' was coined in 1903 by the Japanese language newspaper Rafu Shimpo which remains a major influence within the city's Japanese community today.
Little Tokyo flourished until World II, when it was devastated by the forced evacuation of Japanese-Americans from the Pacific Coast. During the war more than 6,000 people who called Little Tokyo home were moved to U.S. Army detention camps. Following the war and the end of the evacuation, some worried that Little Tokyo would never regain its prosperity. However, many of the detainees returned and once again Little Tokyo flourished.
Today scores of restaurants, specialty produce and fish markets, retail stores, boutiques, gift shops and a variety of professional offices, most owned by Japanese-Americans, line the busy streets. Among the most impressive and modern landmarks of the district are the Japanese American National Museum, located in a remodeled Buddhist temple at First and Central Streets, the gardens at the Japanese Cultural Center and the 21-story New Otani Hotel, a symbol of Little Tokyo's vigorous redevelopment since 1977, located at 120 S. Los Angeles Street.
The biggest event in Little Tokyo is the annual Nisei Week festival held each August. This major community celebration includes a parade, street dancing, food booths and public demonstrations of the Japanese arts including flower arranging, sumi brush painting and the tradition tea ceremony.
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